Shown off at CES 2012, HP’s ENVY 14 Spectre Ultrabook has a release date in Australia. The laptop, touted as merging a stunning glass design and performance, is expected to hit stores at the end of the month with a hefty price tag of $1899.
The chassis has been designed with a lightweight and scratch-resistant glass – “midnight black” on the outside and “silver” glass on tie inside. The internals include a 13.3-inch display, running on the latest Intel Core processors, 128GB of storage via SSD and Beats Audio speakers.
It also boasts 9.5 hours of battery life; and NFC support with its HP Touch to Share, allowing data to be shared between smartphones and the ultrabook without the USB cable or problematic Bluetooth. Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 10 and Premiere Elements 10, and Norton’s Internet Security have been pre-installed.
It will be available via HP’s online store, or via JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman. And only for a limited time, HP is also bundling a free set of Beats by Dr Dre headphones in selected retail stores. So, if you need an excuse to get this one, that probably be the one.
Press release and gallery below.
HP Unveils Extraordinary Glass Design in New HP ENVY14 Spectre
Newest member of ENVY portfolio defies conventional notebook design
Sydney, Australia, 16 February 2012 – HP today revealed the HP ENVY14 Spectre, a premium consumer UltrabookTM PC that commands attention with its unparalleled use of glass and stunning performance.
Tough yet beautiful, the HP ENVY14 Spectre uses lightweight, scratch-resistant glass on the lid, display, palmrest and HP ImagePad – an industry first. With new advances in display engineering and chassis design to reduce the bezel thickness, the notebook fits a full 14-inch diagonal screen inside a 13.3-inch diagonal body and allows users to get more enjoyment from their entertainment.
“Sleek, midnight black glass on the outside and stark contrast silver glass on the inside make Spectre extraordinary, and defies conventional notebook design,” said Robin Seow, Vice President, Marketing, for HP Personal Systems Group in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). “We chose the Spectre name to evoke mystery, and we packed it with the best in entertainment technology to satisfy those who expect the unexpected.”
Designed like no other PC
The HP Spectre’s high-definition (HD) HP Radiance Display offers some of the industry’s highest resolution and richest colour for better brightness and wider viewing angles than traditional notebook displays.
An HP Radiance Backlit keyboard provides outstanding illumination using individual LEDs dedicated to each keycap. The keyboard works with an advanced proximity sensor to intelligently sense a user’s presence, lighting up when a user approaches and dimming down after he or she leaves.
Equipped with a matching audio-grade speaker mesh and Beats Audio™, an exclusive, high-performance technology developed by HP and Beats™ by Dr. Dre, the HP Spectre boasts an aluminum analog volume dial that acts as a visual design cue and works seamlessly with Beats Audio™ Manager to precisely adjust audio levels.
Built-in HP Wireless Audio turns any home into a concert hall, allowing users to stream uncompressed audio to up to four external devices or directly to any KleerNet™-compatible device.
The Spectre is also one of the first notebooks to feature HP Touch to Share, a near-field communications (NFC) technology, which allows users to share data between select NFC-enabled smartphones and the notebook.
Uncompromising performance
The HP Spectre is blazingly fast, stunningly sleek and boasts up to 9.5 hours of battery life.
Powered by the latest Intel® Core™processors, the 20-mm-thin HP Spectre weighs less than 1.8-kilos and includes up to 128 gigabytes (GB) of storage in an ultrafast mSata solid state drive. Intel Rapid Start Technology also allows for quick boot and resume times.
The HP Spectre also comes loaded with HP exclusives, such as HP CoolSense technology, which automatically adjusts performance and internal fan settings for a noticeably cooler PC. In addition, the HP ImagePad provides precise multifinger touch navigation and the HP TrueVision HD(1) Webcam provides brighter, cleaner HD images.
Eliminating the need for external dongles, the HP Spectre features a full array of advanced input and output options, including Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI and Mini DisplayPort.
Additionally, the HP Spectre offers a performance-tuned software image, full versions of Adobe Photoshop® Elements 10 and Adobe Premiere Elements 10, two years of preinstalled Norton™ Internet Security and a concierge phone line for technical support that is dedicated exclusively to HP ENVY users.
Awarded for excellence
Alongside the recently introduced HP ENVY15, the HP Spectre joins the award-winning ENVY portfolio as the winner of CNET’s Best of CES 2012 notebook.
The HP Spectre is also the prestigious winner of the iF Product Design Award 2012, which ranks among the world’s most important design awards and represents the seal of approval for good design. A top-class specialist jury has bestowed the award on the HP Spectre for excellence across several criteria, including design quality, functionality, ergonomics and the degree in innovation.
Pricing and availability
The HP ENVY14 Spectre will be available in Australia from the end February 2012 at a starting price of around AUD$1899 in Australia. The product will be available to purchase from HP’s online store and in HP’s retail partners JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.
For a limited time consumers will also be able to purchase the HP ENVY14 Spectre and receive a free set of Beats Headphones, at selected retail partners.
Australian consumers can find out more and preregister the interest in HP Envy14 Spectre at www.hp.com.au/spectre
